Dons Wrestling: Hard Work Fuels a Successful 2025-26 Season

Since the beginning of February, the SBHS boys volleyball team has been competing throughout the league. As the month of May approaches, the team enters CIF eager to take home the championship. 

The varsity squad consists of 16 players and three coaches. The team has been practicing every weekday since the month of February. The varsity team is second in the Channel League following behind San Marcos High School, but taking a lead in front of Dos Pueblos High School. The team has participated in two tournaments that each led to improvements within the team’s connection and mechanics. 

A standout game of the season was against Mira Costa on March 2 during a tournament. The game against the Mira Costa Mustangs resulted in a loss for the Dons, however, the team was playing “above level” and managed to put up a strong fight on the highly ranked team. As described by senior at SBHS Henry Becker, the Dons, “almost got a set off them.”

Their overall game standings are 17-7, sitting at 2-2 in the Channel League. With each game, there has been outstanding performances from players like Hayes Costner, Maddox Denver, Jasper Bell, Kristian Dybdahl and many more. 

SBHS senior Jackson McDermott, captain of the varsity team describes the most notable game from this season, against Mira Costa, “It was super tough competition, but we still played up to their level and competed with them.” Kristian Dybdal, senior at SBHS reflects on the team as having, “good chemistry” and “the team has learned to work together.” 

Team captain, SBHS junior Maddox Denver, also reflects on the team. He says, “We’re all just really good friends, so it’s always a fun time and I think that helps us play better.” Denver describes another standout game against St. John Bosco on April 10 with a 3-2 win in a tournament. He says “That was our best game because they’re a really good team, but I felt like everybody just stepped up and we all played really well as a team.” Denver says they “just got a good win.” 

As a junior captain, Denver is not only looking forward to the rest of the season, but also next season as well. “We are only losing four seniors, so we will still have a pretty solid team.”

After finishing second in Channel League, the volleyball team advances to CIF where they will play in Division Two. McDermott says, “Everyone is really excited for it, wants to do well and make CIF finals again.” Last year, the team made it very close to winning CIF, so they hope to take home the championship this year. 

In addition to varsity, there is also a junior varsity team and a frosh team. Both of their seasons have finished with great games and experiences. A few of the boys will be hoping to bump up to the varsity team next year.